Bad Influence
by Invaine
Summary: What if, when Charlotte King started seeing Scott Baker, his use of drugs was a bad influence on her, and caused a relapse. (OCC) (includes Jake Reilly) (Let's say her father died in the beginning of s3) Charcoop. Drugs. Tragic. Charlotte King Cooper Freedman Amelia Shepherd Private Practice.


Bad influence.  
Prompt by Fanficfranatic8- What if, when Charlotte started seeing Scott Baker, his use of drugs was a bad influence on her, and caused a relapse. (OCC) (includes Jake Reilly) (Let's say her father died in the beginning of s3)

Cooper watched as Scott walked off, and he didn't know what to do. He didn't look like an addict, but then again neither did Charlotte or Amelia. Not to him. And so, he decided he'd talk to Violet, and hopefully get her to speak to Charlotte, because even though he knows he should, he didn't want to see her. Not yet. And so, he walked out the room, but what he didn't expect to see was Charlotte and Scott talking a little too close to be a work conversation.

"Oh hey, you know Charlotte King, right?" Scott said as he turned around.

"Yeah, yep." Cooper said awkwardly, and Scott looked back to Charlotte as the area they were stood in became very uncomfortable.  
"Oh! Is this the doctor that..." Scott said, but stopped as Charlotte nodded.

"Yeah…" She said, and he nodded.

"This isn't going to cause any issues, is it?" Scott asked.

"No, it's not." Cooper told them, and he and Charlotte nodded.

"Okay, I'll ring you later." Scott said, and walked off, smiling smugly to himself, and Cooper just stared at Charlotte.

"Problem?" Charlotte asked.

"Not at all." Cooper lied, and Charlotte walked off. Cooper then thought back to the fact Scott had asked for drugs, not just any drugs, Oxycodone. Which also happens to be what Charlotte has an addiction to, causing him to fear the worst.

"Did he look high or look like he was starting to develop withdrawal symptoms?" Violet asked Cooper after he told her what happened.

"Not really." Cooper said.

"Well then maybe he just hurt his back and needs the pills?" Violet suggested.

"But he dropped it so quick when he saw that I was confused. Like he was trying to make me forget about it." Cooper told her.

"Does he look like an addict to you?" Violet asked.

"Does Charlotte?" He asked her rhetorically, and Violet looked at him, and Cooper wished he could take it back.

"Charlotte's an addict? To what? How long has she been sober?" Violet asked.

"I shouldn't have told you. You can't tell anyone." Cooper made her promise, and then asked the questions again.

"She's been sober for eight years. It was Oxycodone. That's why I'm worried. If she's dating Scott Baker then how long until she's hooked back onto it?" Cooper asked, and Violet sat down.

"You need to tell her." Violet said, and Copper nodded as he took a deep breath. It was the right thing to do.

Cooper told Charlotte about his run in with Scott and she rolled her eyes. "He has a back-problem Cooper." Charlotte told him, going to walk away, but Copper grabbed her arm gently and turned her around.

"He's addicted Charlotte." Cooper told her, and she moved her arm out of his touch.

"I know an addict when I see one. He's not." Charlotte told him.

"But isn't your job as chief of staff to find out?" Cooper asked her, and she just looked at him.

"I'll talk to him. Now I have to go." Charlotte said and walked off, and as she did, she bumped into Scott.

"Hey, I was just coming to find you. Lunch?" He asked her, and she smiled.

"Sure." She said, nodding her head, and they walked out of the hospital and went to a little lunch bar down the street.

Charlotte lay on Scott's chest later that night, thinking whether she should ask him about his run in with Cooper.

"Cooper told me about this morning. When you asked him for Oxycodone." Charlotte said, sitting up from his chest.

"For my back. Nothing else." Scott said, but for some reason she found it hard to believe, but she decided to drop it for tonight, she'll talk to him at work.

"Okay." She nodded, and rolled off the bed, wrapping herself in his bedding.

"Where are you going?" He asked, seductively.

"I'm going home, I don't stay over." She laughed, walking into the bathroom with her clothes, and when she arrived back into the bedroom, dressed, she picked up her phone and keys from the bedside table, when Scott noticed an AA tag on her keys.

"What's that?" He asked, and Charlotte pushed her keys away quickly.

"Nothing." She told him, having Déjà vu from when Cooper found out.

"You're an addict?" He asked, and she sighed.

"Yeah. The key ring is what sobers carry around in case of an accident so the doctors know what they can and can't treat you with." Charlotte told him, and he could tell she was getting embarrassed so he pulled her hand into him and she sat on the bed.

"I lied before, it's not just my back." Scott told her, and she looked up at him.

"So, you are an addict?" She asked, and he nodded.

"For about two months." He told her, and she looked down.

"You do know that because I'm chief of staff I have to revoke your surgical privileges until you get help?" She explained, and he nodded.

"But that's not why I told you." Scott said, and she looked at him with confusion.

"Then, why did you?" She asked him, and he bent over and picked up his jacket, and pulled out a bag full of Oxycodone, and placed six in his hand, holding them out to her, and Charlottes heart raced, her mouth becoming dry at how close the drugs were to her, and how much she needed them, all day every day, the cravings aren't as bad as they are during the first 50 days, but they never leave.

"Get high with me Charlotte." Scott said, with a smile.

"I can't- I've been sober for too long to fall now." Charlotte started to tell him.

"Think about how good you'll feel. The relief, the relaxation. The pain over Cooper? The suffocating pain of losing your dad? That will all disappear. You'll feel good, Charlotte." Scott told her, trying his best to get her to take them with her, he really liked her, and this could be there thing, because he didn't see how bad the situation was. He placed three of the six pills in her hand and she looked down at her hands, her breaths becoming more hitched, and he placed a glass of water in her other hand, and he clicked their glasses together.

"You gunna join me? Have some fun with me. Relax." Scott said to her, and she watched him as she placed the pills in his mouth, and she tried to fight it, tried to stand up, to leave, but she couldn't. She wasn't strong enough, and she placed the pills in her mouth, and swallowed them along with the water, and she felt her whole-body fill with relief as the ache she's had for 5 years, faded.

Charlotte woke up the next day, her head hurting, her mouth dry, and body coming down from the high she was in last night. She turned her head and found Scott lay next her, watching her sleep.

"Told you you'd feel better." He said with a cheeky smile, and he was right, she did feel better, a lot better, and she laughed, and looked at the time.

"I need to go to work." Charlotte told him, and she rolled off the bed again.

"You have to take away my surgical privileges, so why do you get to keep your job?" He joked with her.

"Because I'm chief of staff, so me usin' only affects me, whereas you, are a heart surgeon, meanin' you are more of a danger." She laughed, and he nodded.

"You'll need to come in though, to give in your pass and sign off your patients to Sam Bennett." Charlotte told him and she finished getting dressed.

"Wont people notice if you're in the same clothes as yesterday?" Scott teased.

"I have clothes in my office. Come in at twelve and we will sort everythin' out." Charlotte told him, and he pulled her into him for a kiss and she kissed back. Once they parted, he placed three pills in her hand and kissed her again.

"For when you need them." He whispered, and she kissed him again, before placing the pills in her pocket and grabbing her bag and leaving, and when he heard the door shut, he smiled to himself. He really, _really_ liked her, and now they can have some fun.

It was about half twelve when Cooper finally found Charlotte, and he watched as she spoke to Scott, and he walked over to the reception where they were to finish his file, when he saw Sam walking over to them.

"You're okay with taking over his patients?" Charlotte asked Sam, and he nodded his head while shaking Scott's hand.

"I am. How long will you be absent?" Sam asked him.

"Awhile." Scott answered.

"I'll be hiring a temp soon, so you won't be covering for long." Charlotte told Sam, and he nodded, before signing the paper along with Scott.

"Well, good luck with everything. I hope to see you soon." Sam said to Scott, and walked off, so Cooper took his chance, and jumped into the conversation.

"Going away?" Cooper asked him, he and Charlotte turned around.

"Taking a leave of absence." Scott told him, with a fake smile, and Cooper looked towards Charlotte, and noticed that there was something was different about her, the way her fingers tapped on the desk, she never did that before.

"How come?" Cooper asked him, and Scott laughed, placing his head down.

"Personal reasons. I have to go, I'll see you later." Scott said to Charlotte and she nodded, and Scott walked off, and Cooper watched as he did, and turned back to Charlotte.

"You ok?" He asked her, and she looked up from the file she was signing.

"I'm fine." She said, a small smile on her face.

"You don't look it." He said with concern, and she laughed.

"Gee thanks." She said and he placed a hand over hers and she looked back up to him.

"Talk to me. What's going on?" He asked her, and she moved her hand from his and shook her head.

"Don't do that." She told him.

"Do what?" He questioned.

"Act like you care, just… leave me alone. Okay?" Charlotte told him, and grabbed her file and walked off towards her office, and Cooper stood in shock. What just happened?

Charlotte walked into her office and leaned against the door, taking deep breaths. She missed Cooper so much, even the simple things, like when he'd subconsciously pull her closer to him when they were half asleep, or the way he'd watch her when he thought she wasn't looking.  
She sat at her desk and tried to fight the need for the pills. She didn't want to fall down that slope again, but she'd already split. The cravings were already winning. Her addiction had already taken control, and so she put her hands in her pocket and pulled out the three pills Scott gave her that morning. She looked at them for a while trying to fight it, but once again she lost, her hands begging to shake as she began to sweat, the drugs she took last night leaving her system. And she placed all three of them in her mouth swallowing them with the water she had on her desk, and took a deep breath, a feeling of relaxation hitting her hard, and she sat back, closing her eyes, and enjoying the pain free silence.

Back at the practice, Cooper was telling Violet, Amelia and Jake about is run in with Charlotte as they drank their coffee in the kitchen as they waited for their patients.

"She's angry, Cooper. And she's allowed to be." Violet told him,

"But she's the one that lied, so why is she angry?" Cooper asked.

"Maybe because you called her a sex toy?" Amelia commented.

"Or maybe because she told you something that she's embarrassed by and you dumped her?" Jake commented.

"Maybe, it's because you broke her heart?" Violet also said.

"Fine. I'll leave her alone then I guess…" Cooper said and Amelia shook her head.

"No. Give her time. She'll come around. Maybe even forgive you." Amelia told him.

"How do you know?" He asked her.

"Because I know her, she just needs time to get over you. That's all." Amelia said, and Cooper looked down.

"You don't want her to get over you, do you?" Jake asked him rhetorically.

"I don't know. I just- I don't know." Cooper said, and Violet coughed to hint that Charlotte was on her way in, and they all went back to their coffee.

"Hey, what time is your patient in?" Violet asked Charlotte.

"Three, she has an appointment with you as well doesn't she?" Charlotte asked her, and Violet nodded.

"Yep. Send her to my office when you're done." Violet smiled, and walked out of the kitchen, and Charlotte looked up as she felt Jake's eyes on her.

"You feelin' ok?" Jake asked her, and she nodded.

"I'm fine." She said, and Jake looked at her closely, and Charlotte walked off.

"See what I mean? Something's up with her." Cooper said, and Jake looked at Amelia and she looked back, with understanding.

"You saw it too?" He asked Amelia, who nodded.

"I saw it." Amelia said, and Cooper looked at them with confusion.

"Saw what?" He asked.

"Her eyes, did you notice how they were quite dull?" Jake said to Cooper.

"Yeah, I saw before." Cooper said, a hint of a question at the end of the sentence.

"She was high, Cooper." Amelia told him, and Cooper felt his heart drop.

"No, she wasn't…" Cooper old them.

"Yes, she was. I'm guessing she was coming down from it as well, because she could barely hold a conversation." Jake said, and Cooper looked back to Charlotte as she smiled at her patient as they shook hands.

Cooper sat with Violet in her office as he kept her compony as she sorted out the seating charts for Maya's wedding the day next. Cooper was watching as Violet looked at the names.

"What?" He asked as she went still.

"Charlotte's bringing Scott Baker as her plus one to the wedding." Violet told him, and he sat back. He still hadn't told violet about what Amelia and Jake said, because if they were wrong, she would never forgive him for telling people her past. Charlotte had told Amelia when she nearly fell of the wagon during a bad week, and he was guessing that Amelia had told Jake because he knew somehow, but telling people she was an addict ad telling people she was high are two different things, and he wouldn't do it.

"Are you gunna bring someone?" Violet asked him, and he grinned.

"Maybe I'll bring Johanna Sampson." Cooper said and Violet smiled.

"Is she back in town?" Violet asked.

"Yep." Cooper said.

"You trying to make Charlotte jealous?" She asked him, and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe." He said, and Violet laughed.

"Do you still think he's using drugs?" Violet asked.

"I don't know, I was at the hospital this morning and he was signing his patients off to Sam, meaning Charlotte has took his surgical privileges and he's getting help, or he quit." Cooper explained.

"Well, what did he say?" She asked.

"He said he was taking a leave of absence for personal reasons." Cooper told her.

"And to Charlotte?" Violet asked.

"Told her he'd see her later. So, I don't know." Cooper told her, and Violet nodded.

"If he's abusing pills, and she's an addict. Him taking a leave of absence but still not getting help, has a cause of concern. Is she acting any different?" Violet asked, and Cooper didn't answer. "Cooper if you think she's using you have to help her, you owe it to her to help her." Violet said, and Cooper nodded, and headed out, and as he was walking he saw Charlotte heading for her office, and he followed her in.

"Hey." He said in the door way.

"I told you to leave me alone." She said to him.

"Is Scott getting help for his addiction?" He asked.

"Who knows." She lied, and Cooper knew she was lying.

"Charlotte I'm worried about you. Your boyfriend is abusing pills, you're an addict… Are you using again?" He asked her, and she looked up to him.

"Why do you care? You made it very clear that you never have and never will care about me. So why the sudden concern?" She asked him with a lot of anger and attitude.

"I care Charlotte." Cooper told her, and she laughed. "Scott took a leave of absence, but he's not getting help, and he's dating you. So yes, I care." Cooper told her.

"I'm not usin' drugs, and neither is he. Now drop it and leave me alone." Charlotte said, grabbing her bag and walking out of her office and towards the elevator and Cooper followed, catching Amelia's attention and she followed too.

"Charlotte, I think your using and- "Cooper started, but Charlotte stopped him.

"I'm not! And even if I was, it would be none of your business." Charlotte told him.

"What's going on?" Amelia asked as she walked over to them.

"You were high, this afternoon Charlotte. We all saw it." Cooper told her.

"Well then you should really get your eyes checked." Charlotte shot back, and began to walk into the elevator when it opened but Cooper put his arm over it to stop her.

"If you slipped, I can help you." Amelia told her, and Charlotte laughed.

"One druggie to another?" Charlotte laughed, and shook her head, and pushed Cooper's arm down and got in the elevator.

"Just stop carin' so much, and go away." Charlotte said, and the doors shut, and Cooper and Amelia stood in shock.

"You can't help an addict until they ask for it. We will keep an eye on her, talk to her and try to help, but until she asks for it, that's all we're gunna get." Amelia said, and walked off, leaving Cooper very worried.

For the whole wedding, all Cooper did was watching Charlotte and Scott, watching as he placed a hand over her leg and watched as she leaned into his side, and jealously ran through his veins. That should be him, but he ruined it. And now he worries that he let her go and she ran into the arms of a drug user who she gets high with.  
Now he was at the reception at Sam's house, and he watches as Charlotte and Scott talk, and laugh.

"You'll move on too, you'll get there." Addison told him, looking back at them.

"She looks happy. Just let her go." Sheldon said as he appeared at his side too.

"Yeah, she does." He said, and Pete gave him a small smile as he took Addison's hand and danced with her, and Amelia and Jake walked over to him, and they also watched Charlotte and Scott.

"They'll use soon, just keeping watching." Amelia said as Sheldon began talking to Sam. And they watched, waiting. And Scott soon walked away after giving her a soft kiss, and Charlotte began talking to Naomi, who walked over and asked her about her mystery man.

"Where did he go?" Cooper asked.

"Most likely to his car, which is where he's keeping the drugs." Jake said, and Cooper looked at him.

"How do know all this? All the tricks?" Cooper asked.

"I was thinking of going into drug abuse before I chose fertility." Jake explained, and he nodded, and after about ten minutes, Scott appeared again, and walked over to Charlotte and Naomi, shaking hands with Naomi and placing a hand around Charlottes waist, and when Naomi was called over to Maya, they watched Scott and Charlotte.

"Here we go." Jake said, watching as Scott pulled out a large back that contained orange small drugs.

"Oxycodone." Amelia said. They watched as they both walked away sneakily.

"What now?" Cooper asked.

"Now we wait until they come back. And we try talking to them." Jake said, and the three of them sat down and waited. Then half an hour passed.

"Should we go and find them? It's been way too long." Amelia said to Jake.

"They've probably over relaxed. Let's go." He said, and the three of them made their way to Addison's bathroom, which is where they went.

Charlotte and Scott sat in Addison's bathroom, and Charlotte watched as he pulled out six pills, Charlotte sat on the side and he was sat on the toilet seat.

"Do you have anything we can smash them with? They're better if you smash them up." Scott asked her, and she shook her head.

"No, but Addison might." She said, and stood up, looking in the cupboards, and pulled out a razor blade.

"That's perfect." He said, and smashed the pills up on a mirror, before separating them into two piles of smashed pills.

"Stand outside and make sure no one comes in, then I'll do the same." Charlotte said, and Scott nodded, shutting the door behind him, and Charlotte placed her hair behind her ears, before sniffing up one of the piles, breathing in and then wiping her nose once she was done, and opens the door, hoping the drugs don't kick in until he's finished, and when the door opens once again, he grabs the bags of pills and puts them in his pocket, and they begin walking away. But the side effects hit heavier and they become drowsy and tired and they sit on Addison's couch and take a deep slow breath, and as their heart begins to slow down, the feeling of relaxation is more stronger and they both sit, silent, still, and without any emotions on their faces.  
They are that out of it that when the door bangs shut, they have no reaction, and they notice when Amelia, Jake and Cooper walk in.

"They're completely out of it. No reactions what so ever." Jake says as he waves his hand over Charlotte's face.

"They're breathing really slowly, means their over relaxed." Jake said again, and took a seat on the couch across from them along with Cooper and Amelia. Cooper couldn't look away from Charlotte. She was looking right at him and had no idea he was there.

"They should come around in about five minutes, but they will be over active, angry, and very high" Amelia said to Cooper explaining what happened to her when she over used as well, and all three of them looked at the two people who were there, but were not _there_.

"They can hear us, you know." Amelia told them.

"They can?" Cooper asked.

"When I was using, I'd end up like this, but I could still hear people." Amelia explained, and looked back at Charlotte and Scott, and noticed that they were starting to come around, and Amelia sat up, and Charlotte looked at her, her eyes still dull, her body still relaxed, but her reactions clear.

"We can help you, how long have you been using?" Amelia asked her, and Charlotte shook her head slowly.

"A few days." Scott said quietly.

"Okay, so if we help you now, you won't need rehab." Amelia told them.

"You're going to kill someone, Charlotte. You're going to make a rash decision at work or get behind the wheel of a car- "Jake started to tell her, but she stopped him.

"I already have." Charlotte told them.

"Already have what?" Jake asked.

"Killed someone." She said, and looked up to them for the first time.

"When?" Cooper asked her.

"When I was first usin', car crash." Charlotte said.

"So why are you using now? If you know the consequences." Cooper asked her, and Scott spoke up.

"Because I put pills in her hand." Scott said, and they didn't know what to say, how do you answer that? They knew they were losing them because they're reactions perked up, but it was heading for a disaster when Addison, Sam, Naomi and Violet came in.

"We saw you three walking in here, got worried when you didn't come back for ages. Is everything okay?" Violet said as she shut the door, and when they walked over, they saw Charlotte and Scott just sat there, slumped on the couch, their eyes heavy.

"Is she okay?" Addison asked about Charlotte.

"I'm fine." Charlotte said, looking up to Addison, and she and Scott went to stand up, but were pushed back down by Jake.

"Don't try to move, you could hurt yourself." Jake told them, and they both looked up to him, before pushing him away, and standing up, and Scott grabbed Charlotte's hand to steady them, and they walked off.

"Let us help you!" Amelia shouted, and they stopped walking as Sam caught up to them, and stood in front of them.

"You're both high." Sam said to them, and because all they really cared about was Charlotte because she was family, he separated their hands and tried to get Charlotte away from him, but Scott pushed Sam to the floor, and Jake ran over, and she and Scott walked off, the high coming down so they could move.

"Should we follow them? Make sure they don't drive?" Violet said, and Amelia nodded, and they all ran to catch them up, luckily, they saw them heading away from the car's and towards the street, and they all followed, hoping to help them, and as Sheldon saw them, he followed too.  
They soon caught up with them, stopping them from walking away from them.

"You need help. Let us help you." Cooper said to them.

"I don't need your help." Charlotte bit back.

"You had a slip, it's fine. But we can get you clean. Both of you." Addison said to them.

"We're fine." Scott told her, and the cab arrived, and they started to get in to it.

"Once you fall, it's harder to get up, you've only slipped. Let us help you." Naomi said to Charlotte.

"Just let it go." Charlotte said, and got into the cab, and drove off.

"Well, that went well." Sheldon said.

"We lost her. There's nothing else we can do, I doubt she'll come to work, not for a while." Jake said, and the group walked back, defeated, worried and hurt.

They arrived at a hotel, knowing they wouldn't be found here, and they sat on the bed, and Scott poured them each a glass of Vodka, and handed her one.

"Take some time off work, use an excuse, something about your family and let's just stay here." Scott said to her, and after swallowing her drink she laughed.

"I can't." She said.

"Why not? You and me both know that after today, your friends will be watching you, stopping you from doing anything. Stay here with me. Take two weeks off." Scott said to her, and she smiled, grabbing her phone and writing an email to the board. And after clicking send, she placed her phone of the bed and downed the last of her drink and poured herself another. Then her phone rang.

"Who is it?" Scott asked, sitting back on the bed after bringing over another bottle of vodka.

"Cooper." She said, ignoring the call, then her phone went off again, but this time it was an email from the board. Giving her two weeks off, personal, but it's the last of her personal days she could have off.

"Now turn your phone off, and come here." Scott said, and charlotte smiled, turning her phone off and Scott pulled her into him, and kissed her, and high, drunk and numb, they slept together, not knowing how what they're doing affects everyone.

It had been a week, and the OCWG sat in the kitchen.

"Any word from Charlotte?" Sam asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"No. No one's seen or heard from her in a week." Addison told him

"I've rang every hospital, morgue and police station in LA, it's like she's fallen off the face of the earth." Sheldon said.

"After a week, the chances of seeing a drug user again is very low." Jake told them all, and they looked at him.

"What does that mean?" Naomi asked.

"Charlotte's been gone a week, we know she's usin', and we also know that if she's quit her job, then she's not getting any money. The chances of any of us seeing Charlotte alive again, they fall by 20%." Jake explained.

"She didn't quit her job, I was in the ER today and people were filing things for her." Pete said.

"Then where is she?" Amelia asked.

"Cooper, have you rang her brothers? Maybe she went home?" Violet asked.

"Yeah, they haven't heard from her since last Sunday." Cooper told them, and they all went silent, thinking where she could be.

"She's not at home, she's not back in Alabama, she's not at Scott's house. There's nowhere else I know of that she could have gone." Amelia told them all. Worry in all of them.

Back at the hotel, Charlotte lay in Scott's arms, they didn't know how long they'd been here, the days fuzzy with pills and booze.

"What you thinking about?" Scott asked her, groggy as they sat on the bed, a mixture of last night's pills, booze from a club running through their systems as he played with the ends of her hair.

"Nothing really, just wonderin' how long we've been here." Charlotte said, and Scott looked at his phone.

"8 days." He said.

"Is that it? Feels longer." Charlotte said, and sat up, leaning on his chest.

"I could stay forever, there's nothing to worry about, no one to annoy me. It's just you and me, it's fun." Scott told her, and she smiled, pushing her head up and kissing his lips softly.

"Why don't we go out and get some breakfast?" Scott asked her.

"Yeah." She smiled and rolled off the bed, and started to get dressed, pushing her hair up in a pony and took Scott's extended hand and headed out of the room. Placing the Do Not Disturb sign on the door and shutting it.

Charlotte was placing on her lipstick in the small mirror in the room, getting ready for work.

"Why are you going back?" Scott asked her.

"Because it's time." Charlotte said, trying to hide how high she was with makeup.

"Do I look high?" She laughed as she turned around and placed her jacket on.

"You look beautiful. I'll come pick you up at the practice at two and we'll get lunch?" Scott asked, and Charlotte kissed him softly.

"Yeah, I'll see you later." She said, and kissed him again and headed out.

Pete was working the ER shift, and when he was walking out of the trauma room, he saw a blonde in a dress and high heels with the chief of staff jacket on, and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things, and he walked over.

"Charlotte?" He asked, shocked, and she turned around and when he saw her face, he filled with relief, and she smiled.

"Hey." She said, and was shocked when he hugged her, but she hugged back.

"Where have you been?" He asked as they parted.

"What are you taking about?" She asked him, and he looked at her with confusion.

"Charlotte, do you know how long you've been gone?" Pete asked her, and she shrugged her shoulders, because she didn't know, all her days mix together.

"I have to go. I'll see you later." Charlotte smiled, and walked off, and Pete watched as she walked off, and logged out of the ER for lunch and ran to the practice.

Back at the practice it had been two weeks since they'd seen or heard from Charlotte.

"How has no one seen her?" Cooper said, and they all shook their heads.

"I hate to be the one to say it, but I think it's time we accept that she's not coming back." Jake said, and Addison shook her head.

"No. She'll come back. I have to believe that." Addison told them.

"Addie, I miss her too, and I want her back more than anything. She was my best friend, but… Jake's right. She's most likely fled, changed her name and got a new life." Amelia said.

"Is that what addicts do?" Cooper asked.

"Sometimes. They feel like they can't make up for what they've done, so the move and the people they leave behind never see them again." Jake said, and Violet went to speak when they saw Pete running towards them.

"Pete, is everything okay?" Sam asked as he caught his breath.

"I've just seen Charlotte. She's at St Ambrose, working like nothing's happened." Pete said, and everyone looked at him.

"You're sure?" Naomi asked him.

"Yeah. I asked her where she'd been and it looked like she didn't even know she'd been gone." Pete explained, and they all stood in shock.

"I have a patient." Cooper said and walked away, and Amelia did the same.

"She's okay?" Addison asked, and Pete nodded.

"Better than expected." Pete said, and Addison let out a breath, along with Violet, Sam and Naomi.

Later that day, Charlotte made her way up to the practice, with no care, no worry, like it was any other day, because to her, it was. She didn't know she'd been gone two weeks, and the drugs she was on made her feel like she was just doing any normal thing, and when the elevator door opened, she walked out and into the practice, walking past Cooper, who followed her, then past Sam, who watched in shock as she walked to the kitchen. She needed Addison and Jake because an IVF patient was in early labour.

"Charlotte?" Addison said in shock as she stopped buttering her bread, and Charlotte smiled as she went into the fridge and got a bottle of water.

"Addison and Jake, the two people I was looking for." Charlotte said, but stopped talking as everyone stared at her, and she saw Amelia walking towards her.

"You're alive." Amelia said, shocked, tears in her eyes as she looked at her best friend.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Charlotte laughed, and gasped as Amelia's hand met her cheek.

"What the hell?" Charlotte shouted, and Jake stood up.

"Two weeks." He said, and Charlotte looked at him with confusion.

"What are you talking about?" She asked him.

"No one's seen or heard from you in two weeks." Cooper told her, and they watched as Charlotte didn't react.

"What are you on?" Amelia asked her, still stood in front of her.

"Nothing, I'm clean." Charlotte said.

"No, you're not. I hit you hard enough to make a man scream in pain, but you didn't even flinch. What drugs are you on?" Amelia asked her.

"I already have a mom, a crap one at that, but I've got one. I don't need another." Charlotte bit back to Amelia, and she then looked back to Addison.

"I have an IVF patient in early labour at St Ambrose. That's what I came here for." She said, and Addison and Jake stood up and went to walk off when the elevator opened, and Scott appeared, and Amelia saw red, and walked towards him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She shouted, and everyone followed.

"I'm picking Charlotte up for lunch… why?" He laughed, and Charlotte walked to him, but Jake stopped her.

"You both have been gone for two weeks, taking and doing god knows what. Let us help you." Jake told them both.

"We're fine." Scott said, and him and Charlotte walked towards the elevator, and they followed, and Jake saw the bag of drugs in his pocket and grabbed them, causing him to turn around.

"Good luck getting high now." Jake told them, and when the elevator opened, Charlotte placed her hands in her bra and pulled out a small bag of pills, and the two of them got in the elevator and held them up.

"Don't need it, but thanks." Charlotte said with a grin, and the doors shut.

They were lay in bed, relaxed, lay in each other's arms when her phone rang, and looking at it she saw that it was her brother, and after ignoring the call, she took a deep breath.

"Why are you ignoring his calls?" Scott asked her, running his fingers through her hair.

"Because it will be about my momma." Charlotte told him.

"What about her?" He asked.

"She's not coping with Big Daddy's death very well, she turned back to the vapours, and my youngest brother, Duke, he went back to booze. Laundry's the only one without problems. He'll be ringing me telling me that they're killing themselves and I don't want to hear it." Charlotte told him truthfully.

"Because you're doing the same thing?" He asked, and she looked up at him.

"Kind off, but also because when I found out that Big Daddy had cancer, I didn't think of getting time of work, I thought I had time to see him during the summer, then two months later I got a call from my brother telling me that he was dying. So, my family think of me as heartless, it's easier to ignore the calls." Charlotte told him and he nodded.

"My Mom died when I was four, and my dad never came back from it. My older brother turned to booze, then, when I was 18, my dad died after driving drunk, and instead of feeling it, I turned to drugs. Got sober at 21, went to med school, became a heart surgeon, then, three months ago I got a call from my brother's wife, he overdosed and died. So, I turned to drugs again, and now here we are." Scott told her, and she gave him a sad smile as she placed a soft kiss on his lips, which is accepted, pulling her further into him, before rolling them over and he hovered over her, before kissing her again.

Later that night, Charlotte was sat on the floor of the hotel, her back against the bed as she drank some water as her mouth was very dry, and Scott sat next to her, and she handed him the water as they sat back.

"Cooper still loves you, you know." Scott told her, and she laughed.

"Where did that come from?" She asked.

"Today, when I walked in, I thought he was going to strangle me for being with you." He laughed, and she nodded with a laugh.

"He doesn't need to be jealous, and he doesn't love me, not anymore." She said.

"I'm glad were best friends, Dr Charlotte King." Scott said, with a slight laughed.

"Me too. Relationships are too much like hard work." Charlotte said, placing her head on his shoulder, and he kissed the top of her head.

"I've got something for you." He said, and rummaged through his coat to try and find it, before handing it to her.

"What for?" She asked, as she held the bracelet in her hand, it was full of charms.

"My mom always told me, find a woman you'll have in your life forever, and hand her this bracelet. And even though were not dating, I'd like to think I'll have you in my life forever." Scott smiled, and Charlotte smiled and placed the bracelet on.

"I don't have anything for you." Charlotte said, and he shook his head.

"I know. I gave it to you because you're my best friend, and my mum would of loved you." Scott told her with a smile, and Charlotte smiled as she looked at the bracelet again.

"Shall we go to lunch?" He asked her.

"We shall." She laughed, and they stood up.

"How do we get her back? To make her listen?" Cooper said as the whole group sat in the conference room.

"We could do an intervention? She'll come in later and we can try and make her understand that what she's doing needs to stop." Addison suggested, and everyone nodded.

"But you also need to understand that Charlotte has a disease, she won't see the damage she's doing to herself or anyone else." Jake told them.

"He's right. We can try and make her understand, but until she reaches rock bottom, there's no way she's going to realise what she's doing." Amelia said.

"What made you get sober the first time?" Violet asked Amelia.

"I accidently overdosed, there's nothing more eye opening than feeling yourself die." Amelia told them.

"What made Charlotte?" Sam asked.

"I'm guessing it was when she had that car crash. Nothing like killing someone to get your crap together." Amelia said again, with a laugh at the end.

"So, when she come's in later, we're going to what? Ambush her?" Naomi said, heavily against the idea.

"It's the only thing we can do." Addison said, and they all stood in the lobby of the office and waited for her arrival.

"Should we check her office for drugs?" Cooper suggested, and they all agreed, but Amelia remained sat down.

"I'll wait here. It's the best way." Amelia told them, and they smiled and looked around the entire practice and her office for any sort of drugs she may have hid.  
Cooper found a large bag full stashed in her plants, Addison found a small bag placed behind one of her files, and Sheldon found a bag in the middle draw, but they couldn't find anymore, so they placed the pills in a locked cupboard and walked back into the lobby where Amelia was and they waited.

When Charlotte stepped out of the elevator, the last thing she expected was Cooper to be right outside.

"Can we talk to you?" Cooper asked her, and she laughed with confusion.

"Who's we?" She asked, and when she walked further into the main entrance, she saw everyone sat.

"An intervention? Seriously?" Charlotte said, and turned around to leave.

"Your friends want to help you. Listen to what they have to say." A woman said, and Charlotte looked at her.

"And who are you?" She asked.

"Charlotte, stay, please." Amelia asked her, and Charlotte took a deep breath and walked towards her office.

"Where are you going?" Addison asked her.

"I'll stay but I never said I'd listen." Charlotte told her, and walked off, slamming the door of her office shut.

"Great. She's gone again." Addison said.

"She feels attack, she's upset, and she as the right to be. This is wrong, guys. She needs help, not an ambush." Naomi told them

"What now?" Cooper asked as they all sat back down.

"Now we wait. Sooner or later the pill's that she's on are going to start leaving her system, and she'll go in to withdrawal. My guess is she's an oxy girl? Nothing like that to turn a nice girl into a bitch, so when the withdrawals start, you should expect a lot of hurtful things to come out of her mouth." The woman explained. "Any minute now, she'll either come through those doors with more pills running her system, or in withdrawal. Depending if she brought some with her today." And the group sat and waited, watching Charlotte threw the small gap in the window and she turned on her chair.

Charlotte was angry, she was pissed. How could they do this? She was fine. She was more than fine. She was having fun, why couldn't they just leave her alone?  
ten minutes passed, and she heard her door open and Cooper walked in, and he closed the door and shut the blinds, giving them privacy.

"I miss you." He said to her, sitting on the couch in her office.

"You're just saying that to get me to go out there." Charlotte laughed at him.

"No, I'm not. During the two weeks you were gone, I was worried sick charlotte. I called the morgue every day, the hospitals, the police. No one had seen you. I thought you were dead!" He shouted towards the end, and she put her head down.

"I told you to stop caring so much." Charlotte reminded him, and he shook his head.

"I love you, Charlotte. I need you to get help, I need you to come back." Cooper told her, grabbing her hand, and she looked at him. He loved her, he wanted her again. And if she got the help everyone keeps saying she needed maybe she and cooper could get back to what they were. Charlotte smiled slightly, and his heart filled with hope and she went to speak, but it all came crashing down when Sam stormed in and began to yell.

"Amelia is out there crying because she wants her best friend back. Sheldon is worried sick because the poor guys in love with you, Cooper's been a mess for the past two weeks, because you have been missing! You want to stop messing up? You wanna stop being the black sheep of this family? Stop doing drugs!" Sam shouted, and Charlotte moved her hand away from Cooper's and stormed off, and everyone just stared at Sam.

"What the hell was that?" Cooper shouted. "I just needed another five minutes, I almost had her back!" Cooper shouted.

"She needed to hear it." Sam defended himself.

"No, she didn't. What she needed to hear was that we are here for her, and that no matter what she has done that we love her. She has a disease Sam. It doesn't get solved by yelling. Would you yell at Pete because he had a heart attack?" Jake asked her.

"No, because that's different, Pete's heart attack wasn't his fault." Sam said.

"And neither is what Charlotte is going through." Jake told him, and everyone walked off, and Sam stood in her office, taking deep breaths to calm down.

Charlotte walked past everyone and locked herself in the staff bathroom and pulled out the three pills she had in her bra, placed them on the side and began to crush them with the heel of her shoe. Outside the room, everyone flinched as the loud bangs coming from the bathroom shocked them.

"How did she get hold of drugs?" Amelia asked, trying to open the door.

"Charlotte. Let me in. Let me help you. Open the door." Amelia shouted, no answer.  
Back in the bathroom, Charlotte sniffed up the pills, and cleared her throat, placing the three remaining pills back in the bag and stuffing them in her bra again, and looked at herself in the mirror, wiping her nose and pushing her now messy hair behind her back, wiped the sides with her hand as she placed her shoe back on, and opened the door, finding the whole group looking at her.

"You wanna talk? Let's talk. I ain't got all day." Charlotte said, and walked towards the circle of chairs in the main entrance and sat on the end one, and crossed her arms, and waited for the drugs to calm her down.  
They all followed, and sat in chairs and stared at her, unsure of what to say.

"You dragged me here, someone has to have the guts to say somethin'. Anyone? No? Didn't think so." Charlotte bit at them, pissed that they wouldn't just leave her be. She thought they all hated her anyway so why are they even doing this?

"Who's first?" The woman asked, and Violet raised her hand's slowly, and walked over to the spare seat next to Charlotte, and Charlotte looked at her, feeling herself growing more and more relaxed.

"What did you take in the bathroom?" Violet asked her in her shrink voice.

"Take a guess." Charlotte said back to her, and Violet nodded.

"My guess is oxy? Am I right?" Violet asked her, and Charlotte shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, are you?" Charlotte bit back at her, feeling her heart rate coming down, and she sat back, crossing one leg over the other and turning away from Violet and stared out the window.

"Why are you taking the drugs Charlotte?" Violet asked, moving her chair so that Charlotte could see her.

"You tell me. You're the shrink." Charlotte said to her, attitude still in her voice.

"I think it's because it's an easy escape for you." Violet said, and Charlotte rolled her eyes and looked at her

"An escape from what?" Charlotte asked.

"From the grief of losing your father." Violet said, and Charlotte looked away from her and placed her head down, she would not cry here. Not now. Not ever.

"You and were father were close, so losing him much of been very hard. You had to take him off the ventilator, didn't you?" Violet asked her, even though they all knew the answer, but Charlotte didn't answer, she just looked up and out the window again.

"So, when Scott handed you the pills, is was a way to numb yourself from the grief, from the hurt, from everything… and so you took them, and now here we are." Violet told her, and everyone was silent, Amelia wiped the tears from her face, knowing the pain Charlotte was in, and finally understanding why she did what she did, because she did the same thing. Addison didn't know what to do, so she just grabbed Amelia's hand in support, because then at least she felt like she was helping someone. Cooper just looked at Charlotte, his heart breaking for her because he knew what the loss of her father did to her, the pain she was in, and in a heat of the moment anger, he probably added to that pain with words he can never take back. Naomi just looked to the floor, unable to bare what they were making Charlotte go through, and Jake, Sheldon, Sam and Pete looked around the room, and Violet continued. "Am I right?" Violet asked her, but Charlotte didn't answer, she just continued to stare into space, the light in her eyes growing dark.

"Charlotte, am I right?" Violet asked her, but once again, got no answer.

"She's gone. She's that high she can't even hear us." Pete said to them.

"She can hear you." Amelia said to them, and they all looked towards her.

"She's not answering because she's high and forming words would mean she'd need the energy she doesn't have. Just give her a few minutes, she'll come around." The woman told them, and they watched as Charlotte just stared into space.

"Whoever wants to speak next, go on." Violet said, standing from the seat, and Naomi stood up and sat in the seat next to Charlotte.

"I can't say I understand what you're going through, because I don't. But I'm just as against this as you are. I want to help you, Charlotte, in any way I can. You just have to let me. I know some great rehab centres here. Private obviously." Naomi laughed slightly, along with the rest. "Let us in, Charlotte, let us help you before it's too late. It's not too late for you yet. You still have a chance. Just say the words and I'll take you there myself." Naomi told her, and Charlotte turned her head slowly and looked at her.

"I don't think I can I do it." Charlotte said to her, shaking her head, and Naomi grabbed her hand.

"Do what?" Naomi asked, hopeful that is was it. That she helped.

"Feel. I can't, it's too much." Charlotte said, and everyone's heart broke as she spoke about the grief of her late father.

"I'll help you through it. We all will." Naomi said to her, and Charlotte's eyes met hers, and she nodded slowly, and Cooper let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, as did everyone else. And once again, they were close, so close to having her back. So close that Charlotte stood up with Naomi and began to walk out, but, the elevator opened, and Scott walked out, and stood still as he saw the circle of people, and Charlotte turned around.

"What's going on here?" Scott laughed, and because Charlotte was stood so close to the lift, he could catch her smile, and pull her into a hug which she accepted, but Cooper stood up and walked over to them.

"No, you need to leave. Now" He said, but Scott moved him and Charlotte further away from him, Charlotte still in his embrace.

"No, if Scott wants help too we can help him." The woman told them.

"No, our main concern is Charlotte." Pete told them.

"She's more likely to get the help she needs if he's with her, people who are in drug using relationships are more successful in getting sober if they're together." The woman told them, and Cooper watched as Scott held Charlotte closer to him, and jealously ran through him as she rested her head on his shoulder, wrapping her hands around his neck.

"We can help the both of you." Violet said, and walked towards them, and Cooper looked at them, and then everyone watched as Cooper walked over to them, and Charlotte looked at him as she stepped out of Scott's embrace.

"I get it. Your father dying was a lot to cope with, and using drugs is a way to forget. But what about you mom? Your brothers? Don't you think they are feeling the same grieif? Or what about when you finally decide to get help? All the pain you're blocking out now, it's gunna come back, the drugs don't make the fact that your father died go away. He died, Charlotte. The drugs are just postponing the greif. So just feel it, don't burry it." Cooper tried once again, trying to get her to understand what she's doing to herself, but she shook her head, looking down, placing her hands on her hips as she chocked on a sob.

"It's okay to feel it, Charlotte. You lost a parent." Violet join in, and Amelia looked at Charlotte and knew what was about to happen, and tried to stop them, knowing exactly how Charlotte felt, but when she went to speak, Addison stepped forward.

"We have the same parental background, Charlotte. I can't imagine how you're feeling." She said, and then Amelia understood the tactic they were using. They were going to make her fall and cry into Cooper's arms and then take her to get help, along with Scott if he wanted it, because her family did the same thing a few days before she almost died.

"The pain you felt before the drugs were normal. It's ok to cry, to feel. It's part of life. You can't block it out with drugs." Sam said, and Charlotte shook her head again, before taking a deep breath that contained a sob, and Amelia had to stop it.

"Guys! Enough! What the hell is this?" She shouted, walking to them.

"She needs to feel it." Sam shouted back.

"Have any of you lost a father? No? Then how could you possible know if this is helping?!" Amelia shouted to them, and they went silent, and they all looked at Charlotte and Cooper walked closer to her as her head was down and her body shook, hinting that she was crying. Cooper went to touch her shoulder and she moved back from him, lifting her head up.

"Don't you _dare._ " She spat at him, tears rolling down her face, and the way her voice broke as she spoke shocked the group, a pang of pain in their heart for her. Cooper looked at her, and stepped closer, as he spoke, "I get it, you're hurting-" Cooper began, but Charlotte became angry and violet by the ambush and the withdrawal, but also the hurt.

"How could you possibly get it? Both your parents are alive." She said to him.

"You're right, he doesn't get it. Most of us don't, but, I know many people how have lost a parent and didn't turn to drugs. You made the mistake of slipping Charlotte, and you can't blame your late father for that. What would he think of you now? Huh?" Sam started, but his rant was cut short when Charlotte hit him across the face with extreme force, and everyone went silent as Scott held her back as she went to hit him again.

"Don't you dare act like you know me, you know nothin' about me! Don't you ever, _ever_ talk about my father again! You have no right." Charlotte screamed as she began to cry, and she stopped fighting Scott and hugged him, resting her face in the crook of his neck and her cries were muffled, and everyone stood in shock at her outburst, their hearts breaking at the tone of her voice, and Cooper watched with hurt and jealousy as she found comfort with another man.

"Can we go? I wanna go." Charlotte said, her voice small, and Scott nodded, taking her hand and walking towards the elevator with their hands entwined.

"Charlotte, please, stay." Sheldon tried.

"If you ever talk about my father again, I'll kill you with my bare hands. You don't know anythin' about me or my family. I _hate_ you." Charlotte spat at Sam, and he stepped back, he knew he overstepped, and his felt guilty, and Scott and Charlotte got into the elevator, and as the doors shut, Charlotte made eye contact with Cooper, and his heart fell as he saw the pain behind them. He loved her, more than he thought he could ever love anyone, and she was gone, she was with someone else, and he didn't see her coming back anytime soon, and when the elevator doors shut, Cooper turned around and punched Sam in the jaw, causing him to fall to the floor.

"You deserved that." Jake said, and everyone sat back down as Sam stood up.

"How do we help her now? She left." Cooper said.

"Now we wait. You don't enable her. You ignore her calls until she says she ready to get help. And that phone call will come. " The woman told them, and they all nodded, as they took in today's events, and Charlotte's breakdown.

 **THANKS FOR READING PART ONE OF TWO.  
IDEA'S OF WHAT CHARLOTTES ROCK BOTTOM COULD BE?  
REVIEW! (charcoop endgame, don't worry!) ****?**


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